How to write a good prompt: a simple recipe
Better answers don’t come from clever wording. They come from telling the AI what you’d tell a helpful colleague. Here’s a four-part recipe that works in any assistant.
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Follow-up prompts: turn an OK answer into a great one
The first answer is only a draft. A short, specific reply is often all it needs. Here are the follow-ups worth knowing, and when to start a fresh chat instead.
Break big jobs into steps: prompt chaining explained
One giant prompt gives you something that looks finished but is hard to check. Break the job into steps with checkpoints and you get better work you can trust and reuse.
The AI words you keep hearing, explained
Tokens, hallucinations, agents, AGI: a friendly guide to the AI words that keep cropping up, what they mean and why they matter to you.
Your first ten minutes with an AI assistant
Never used one? Here’s how to pick a free AI assistant, check four settings and try three useful first chats, plus what to keep to yourself.
The 10 most common ways people use AI
Hundreds of millions of people use AI every week, mostly for everyday life rather than work. Here’s what they ask it, with an idea to try for each.
5 things to use AI for this week
Five everyday jobs AI handles well, each with a prompt you can paste in today: from a messy to-do list to a confusing bill.
Let AI ask the questions first
Not sure what to tell an AI? Ask it to interview you first. One extra line gets you an answer that fits your situation, not everyone’s.
Using AI at work without getting into trouble
AI can save you hours at work, but pasting the wrong thing into the wrong tool can cause real trouble. Here’s what’s fine, what to keep out, and why.
Write better at work with AI, and still sound like you
Use AI as an editor, not a ghostwriter. Prompts to make your writing clearer, shorter and friendlier, plus how to check the tone before you send something tricky.
Write an AI policy your team will actually follow
A short, practical AI policy beats a long one nobody reads. What to cover, from approved tools and data rules to accountability, and how to keep it current.
Tame your inbox with AI
Summarise long threads, sort what matters, draft replies in your voice and turn emails into tasks. Plus the privacy rules, and why you read every reply before it goes.
AI for homework: help that actually teaches
For parents and students: how to use AI as a patient tutor rather than an answer machine, while staying inside your school’s rules.
Make images with AI, and use them responsibly
Describe a picture and AI will make it in seconds. Here’s how to get the one in your head, and the simple rules for using it well.
Code with an AI assistant and keep control
AI can write code faster than you can review it. Here’s a workflow that keeps you in charge, and the security habits that stop a helpful assistant becoming a liability.
What are AI agents, and should you use one?
A chatbot answers your question. An agent goes off and does the task, clicking, typing and filling in forms. Here’s what they’re good for, and how to use one safely.
Connect AI to your email, calendar and files, safely
Connectors let an AI assistant search your email, calendar and files, and sometimes act for you. Here’s how they work, the risks, and the settings that keep you in charge.
Which AI is best for your work? Run your own fair test
Leaderboards test models on someone else’s questions. A fair test on your own tasks shows which assistant suits your work. Here’s how to set one up and score it.
Automate a weekly task with AI, safely
Hand a repetitive job to a no-code automation with an AI step. Here’s how to map it, test it, keep a person in the loop and notice when it fails.
AI’s energy and water use, in proportion
AI runs in data centres that use electricity and water. Here’s the footprint in proportion: what one prompt costs, why images and video cost more, and habits that help.
Use AI to think through a decision
AI won’t make the decision for you, but it’s a useful thinking partner. Five techniques, with prompts, to weigh your options and spot what you’re missing.
Build a working app with an AI app builder
AI app builders turn a description into a working app with sign-ins and a database. Here’s how to plan, secure and own one, and when to call a developer.
Run AI on your own computer: what you need and why
Download an open-weight model and run it on your own machine: private, offline and with no per-use cost. Here’s what you need, and what you give up.